People often ask me, “How does MarketSmart work with partners (allies) to help nonprofits lower costs and increase revenues?”
It’s a good question. Many people see the link on our website about our partner program. Or, stumble upon Phyllis’ video. But most don’t realize that more than 75% of our business is the result of referrals from our friends — our partners/allies.
So, today I thought I’d explain how we work with consultants, consulting firms, direct marketing agencies, CRM software companies and others.
First, it’s important to recognize that there’s a myriad of service firms available to help nonprofits. Fundraisers at nonprofits need them because they usually can’t afford to have full-time, experienced expertise on-staff (in-house). So they tap into the consulting world, they subscribe to use CRM software, and they hire direct response agencies.
Having said that, it’s important to recognize that we are not a consulting firm. And, we are not a direct response agency — anymore. Also, we are not a direct mail firm or printer. And we are not a CRM company.
So what the heck are we and how do we fit?
This might take a little while for you to get your head around because it involves opening up your mind to accept a new paradigm.
Nonprofit organizations need apps!
Think of it this way — Nonprofits need “apps” in the same way that fundraisers need apps on their mobile devices. Tweet this!
An organization’s apps might include the following:
- Outsourced case for support development
- Outsourced capital campaign consulting
- Outsourced direct mail copywriting, design, printing, and mailing
- Outsourced planned gift marketing
- Outsourced data warehouse (CRM)
So where’s the platform for the apps?
Ok. So if consultants, consulting firms and others are the apps, then where’s the platform? Well… That’s MarketSmart!
Our platform helps nonprofits raise more money more efficiently. The platform (and system) does a lot of things. But mostly it tracks hi-capacity (wealthy), highly involved, highly committed people online. Then the platform scores their engagements and interactions with a nonprofit organization and its mission. The more these folks engage with an organization online, the better educated and the more likely they become to make major gifts and/or planned gifts.
This makes sense because most people research and engage with a car company online before they buy one. They research a travel destination online before they book a trip. They check out stocks online before they buy shares. And they even investigate restaurant menus online before they reserve a table. So why should nonprofits and charitable giving be any different?
As they engage online with a nonprofit’s mission and its content, they build a relationship with it. They entwine their life story with the organization’s purpose thereby creating a bond that leads to massive giving now and/or after someone’s lifetime.
At first no one wanted to be an “app”
When we first launched our platform and technology, we had a hard time finding people who recognized its value. Too many people were scared. We needed “early adopters.” And, as we searched for them, we did the marketing for a lot of our clients. We tested how others should use our platform. We developed success stories, best practices, and benchmarks. Finally, with a little bit of effort, we found some partners who were ready to share our results with their clients and customers!
Our partners know that:
- We never try to get their clients to buy consulting services from us. That’s because we know that nonprofits win big when consultants are aligned and involved with us and our platform.
- We teach them everything we know. Nobody knows how to use our technology better than us. But we need consultants to use their experience and smart thinking to come up with new ways to enhance what can be achieved with our platform. So, we teach them everything we know realizing that they’ll take our concepts to the next level.
- We act like the orchestra while they conduct the music. Most of our partners don’t know much about writing code and building technological innovations. So we take care of that. Meanwhile, we make sure that they stay in charge. They lead the initiatives. They can communicate with their clients or they can involve us. It’s up to them.
- We make everyone else look good. We want fundraisers to get raises and accolades. We want our partners to get longer contracts and sustainable revenue. All we want is for everyone else to look good. Because, if we do that right, then we win too!
Our vision.
Over time, more and more consultants, consulting firms, direct response agencies and CRM companies will recognize the value we provide. They’ll ask us how they can benefit. They’ll see that, together as allies, we can help organizations raise substantially more dollars from major and planned gift donors for less.
They’ll understand that getting major gift and planned gift fundraisers connected with and in front of major gift and planned gift prospects at the right time, when they are ready to talk and willing to meet, is essential.
They’ll recognize that our platform was developed to bring fundraisers together with people efficiently. They’ll realize that we aim to help fundraisers be much more effective. They’ll realize that we ensure that the donor doesn’t get bombarded with messages they don’t want to receive and forced into having meetings with people they don’t want to see.
They’ll see that we give our partners ways to coach nonprofits on being more effective and efficient. We give direct response agencies and printers ways to use data to develop much more targeted, relevant, and personalized communications.
Bottom line:
Our friends, partners, and allies in the fundraising community work with us to use our platform and to learn to employ it.
When they do, their clients raise more money at lower costs.
When they do, they gain more clients and increase their own revenues while smoothing out the lumpiness of a contract-oriented business existence.
When they do, everyone wins!
Are you a consultant or are you thinking about becoming one? Are you a thought leader? Do you work for a CRM or other software company? Want to learn more? GO HERE
We’ll be your partner, not your competitor. We’ll make your strategies perform better. We’ll help you grow. We’ll keep you on the cutting edge. And, we’ll help you get results!